Many plumbing jobs require a tube to be cut for sizing, splicing or the like. Tube cutting can be quite difficult and awkward, especially if the cutting must be performed in situ, and the location of the operation is quite confined. Often, the person making the cut must hold some othe item, such as an element covering the tube being cut, or the like while the cutting operation is being carried out. I such an instance, the cutting operation may require two people, which can be wasteful.
Still further, many tube cutting operations require the cut tube to be sanded and to have cutting oil applied thereto during the cutting operation. These requirements further exacerbate the above-discussed problems.
While the art has many tube cutters, and even has several examples of hand-held tube cutters, none of the devices presently known in the art is capable of performing a plurality of different operations while being held in a user's hand, and while further permitting the user to have his other hand free.
Therefore, there is a need for a tube cutting device which can be operated by a single user with one hand and which can also perform several operations associated with a tube cutting operation, including sanding and applying cutting oil to the tube during such cutting operation.